


A Lawin' Family

by Not_You



Series: A Gentleman of Negotiable Virtue [6]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Emma is fierce, Fluff, Gen, M/M, POV Outsider, Parents & Children, all the broken elevators, boys you are so in love, quintuplets - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-01
Updated: 2012-12-01
Packaged: 2017-11-20 00:29:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_You/pseuds/Not_You
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik meets with his attorney.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lawin' Family

Emma sizes the defendant up as he enters her office and decides that she can probably work this. He's photogenic, at least. Really quite beautiful in the old aristocratic style, and she idly wonders about his family as Charles introduces them. He even waits for the lady to extend her hand first, like a real gentleman. She gets them all settled and waits for Esme to bring the coffee before they actually talk business. Well, she would, but Charles is Charles.

"Doing well, Esme?"

"Very. Creamer?" Charles of course accepts some, but his companion takes it black. Her eldest smiles. "Sugar?"

"Please." She hands him some, lingering over it too much, and then bounces out again. "Your daughter?"

"My oldest. I'm trying to teach them useful skills and keep them off the streets." She sips her coffee. "Now, tell me your story, I've read all the files."

Haltingly, Erik does. He seems like a smart boy, particularly given his decision to quit while he was ahead. She stops him on the Nazi crap, asking if a: he's actually Jewish, and b: if he's observant. Getting a yes to both, it's all she can do not to grin like the shark she is. They go over the assholes they'll inevitably have to deal with, such as people who think a prostitute can't be sexually assaulted and deeply religious individuals whose loving gods are only angry that Shaw and Erik aren't both dead together, and various strategies, precedents, and relevant laws. The whole time, she watches Charles and Erik. The day she believes these two are just friends is the day she returns her woman's intuition as defective under warranty. It's rather sweet, really. Little reassuring touches and meaningful looks. Erik even puts his hand on Charles's knee, and Charles hardly lets anyone touch his legs. She walks them out at the end, and groans in furious exasperation to see both elevators being cleaned and repaired.

"Damn it, I told Maintenance I had a paraplegic client coming in today and that we were going to need those!"

"Best laid plans," Charles murmurs, and rolls over to ask the maintenance man how long it will be. He doesn't look much older than nineteen, and winces as he meets Charles's eyes, at equal height because he's crouched by a wiring panel.

"It's gonna be like, at least another half an hour, man. I am so fuckin' sorry. Nobody tells me anything."

"Don't worry, I don't shoot the messenger."

Emma meanwhile calls the department to bark at them for not listening to her, and watches as Erik crouches by Charles's chair and speaks to him quietly for a while. She likes how natural and fluid his movements are. Personally, she talks to Charles by either finding herself a chair or standing far enough back that he can look her in the eye without craning his neck, but Erik doesn't have a skirt to worry about and clearly wants to touch Charles more than she ever has. And she has, he's a lovely boy. She had helped with the suit about his injury when he was still newly paralyzed and snarling like a wounded tiger and had even found him attractive then. As the years have passed and he's relearned how to smile and how to flirt and gained back the weight he had lost, he has gone back to his normal standard of remarkable beauty. And then she loses her thread, because Erik is actually reaching into the chair and picking Charles up. Charles, with all his pride and angst and those lifeless legs he tries to keep to himself is allowing Erik to bundle him up into a bridal carry. He's wrapping his strong arms around Erik's neck and resting his head on his shoulder like he has no problem with it at all, when needing Raven to push him after a shoulder injury had nearly driven him mad with resentful embarrassment. The kid comes to a stopping point in his work and folds up the chair, following them down the stairs. Charles waves to Emma, who nods and returns it, heading back into her office.

Esme comes back in later to elaborate on how 'utterly dreamy' her mother's current client is, and Emma just rolls her eyes, on hold with another office. _He's a client, and far too old for you._ Emma scribbles onto a notepad. _Also, he's a working boy._

"Yes, but leaving the business and willing to carry his man around. Why are all the good ones gay?"

 _Erik is bi, darling, remind me to teach you to spot it better._ And then her colleague finally picks up his phone as Esme wanders out and Sophie comes in with the files Emma sent her to fetch. Involving the quints in the firm has been fairly harrowing, but they seem to be learning a lot and this way she can keep an eye on them. They're just like their mother, which is to say devious, unscrupulous and underhanded. She's so proud of them it hurts.


End file.
